Just An Idea

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=33097816&nid=757&title=utah-lawmakers-medicaid-gas-tax-on-tap-for-2015-session&s_cid=queue-10

1) Enjoy having that "extra money" in your pocket, becuase taxes might be going up (Income tax). They lowered it to 5% before the recession, as said in the article, but as things have been picking back up, it  appears that they're wanting to raise it back to what it was before. 

2) It also sounds like we're going to be paying more for Medicaid. Costs could be pretty heavy down the road, but hopefully our legislature can get something figured out. 

3) Currently, there are three main sites being looked at for the new state prison, but none of the residents in those area's want the prison there (I mean, who would?) There was one comment the article made that I really liked, "Davis said lawmakers should look at using government-owned land instead of the private parcels they're considering buying. If Utah buys private land to build a new prison, Davis said that land will no longer be taxed, sending less money to local governments and school districts." If that land was no longer being taxed, would that mean even higher taxes than proposed in the first two issues to compensate the loss?

What do you guys think about the new proposals/developments?

Under The Influence

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/woman-high-on-drugs-crashes-in-american-fork-after-high/article_a7547dc5-5844-5e28-bdb4-0cccfccfce03.html

It's events like this, that makes me feel even stronger about not allowing recreational marijuana. This lady was high on multiple drugs, and could have done some serious harm. I honestly wonder if the states who do allow it are experiencing more accidents due to DUI's.

This is one "freedom" I'm willing to give up for my safety. 

A Deadly Force

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865618856/Family-of-Darrien-Hunt-files-2-million-civil-suit-against-Saratoga-Springs.html

If you didn't hear about the guy who was killed while allegedly running towards a store with a sword, I would suggest looking that up before reading this story.

Two family members of the deceased filed a complaint and lawsuit saying the police shouldn't have killed Darrien. While the sword may have been fake, officers wouldn't have had a way to know that before hand. I for one would not want to let someone with a sword run into a public place with multiple people that could potentially be harmed. Though, I don't think going as far as killing the man was necessary. Just hindering his ability to continue into the store (shooting in the leg maybe?) would have been sufficient.

Do you think the police were in the right, or in the wrong? What would you have done in the officers shoes?

Je Suis Charlie

In AP french today, we took a small amount of time to discuss the recent terrorist attack near Paris, France. 12 people were killed in a terrorist gun attack, with 11 more injured, ironically committed by 2 (possibly more) islamists.

I was amazed by the numbers they had searching for these criminals. 35,000+ officers searching, with countless others on the lookout. The police force is also protecting public transit systems, and public areas where people are demonstrating in tribute to those who were killed.

While this didn't happen within or to the United States, I can just hear the judgemental comments now . . . as Americans, we are still having a hard time realizing that the islamic religion and those who practice it are not inherently evil. There are a few people within their group however, who take their views to the absolute extremes. Every religion has it's bad guys, we just don't always publicize them.

I hope that people can understand that not all muslims are bad, nor are all christians good. Each person makes their own decisions, and these men definitely made the wrong one.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/paris-terror-attack-inside-manhunt-charlie-hebdo-attackers/story?id=28087685&from=related

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30738653

Exponential Costs

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/barack-obama-free-community-college-114094.html

This article talks about President Obama's plan to give every high school graduate an opportunity to qualify for two free years at a community college. I think this is a great idea, minus some major flaws. 

1) Our country is in enough debt as it is, currently. Where does President Obama think he is going to find the money to fund this project? In the long run, yes, it may help pay some of that debt down as more American's become educated, but will we survive long enough to reap that reward?

2) This only coveres their tuition, not their living expenses, books, transportation to their campus, etc

3) He is doing it more out of competition with other countries, rather than his own countries best interest, and his citizens best interests. If he is doing this to get ahead in the ranks, different paths may be taken than the ones that would really benefit the students the most.

What do you guys think about the proposed plan? 

Fire Is NOT Catching

http://fox13now.com/2015/01/08/salt-lake-county-approves-wood-burning-ban-starting-in-2016/

I personally LOVE this. Having had breathing problems my whole life, I have come to dread the summer with all of the wild fires, inversions, neighborhood bonfires, etc. This would help to reduce some of the polution in our air.

People are arguing with the regulation, saying the county officials are abusing their power. I don't agree with them. The officials are just trying to keep our air quality at least in the yellow, if not in the green. Even people without asthma or allergies should realize how bad red air quality days are for you. This regulation doesn't prohibit all wood burning, just wood burning on the days where the air quality is in the yellow or red. Even to that extent, for those who rely on wood burning to heat their homes or cook their food, this doesn't apply. It also doesn't apply to days where there would be an emergency requiring the action of burning wood (i.e. power outage)

I hope more counties in Utah follow suit on this. I think it is a step in the right direction to helping to clean up and protect the environment in which we live. 

Little Did They Know

This kind of frightens me . . . how many people have I come across that I didn't know were registered? Any? Lots? Honestly, I don't know. There could have been multiple, because it doesn't sound like they're monitored very closely.

A parent called police when they saw a person in the parking lot to their childs school, whom they didn't think belonged there. They recognized them from high school, and recaled them being a convicted sex offender, and knew him being on an elementary school campus was crossing the lines.

What kind of rules are set for these people? I know they can't go to certain places, but it doesn't seem like there is a very good way to make them actually follow that. This guy wouldn't have been re-arrested, had it not been for his high school peer. 

To me, it sounds like we need to monitor the convicted persons within our communities, a little more closely.

http://fox13now.com/2015/01/08/sex-offender-back-behind-bars-after-parent-spots-him-near-school/